The reserve – a popular hiking, cycling and game driving spot for Gauteng – was closed when the national state of emergency was announced earlier this year (and the subsequent lockdown which came into effect on midnight of 26 March).

Following the lifting of restrictions, it was expected that the reserve would have reopened on 1 June, but this was not the case.
Nozipho Hlabangana, Head of Communications at the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (the governmental department under which the reserve resorts) told Ster North in July that the reserve could not be reopened as “water supply interruptions” needed to be addressed because water is a basic necessity for both employees and guests of the reserves.
The problem seems to have been fixed and since reopening many hikers, cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts have flocked to the reserve to enjoy the great outdoors.